Slowtwitch Portland Road Show

April 22, 2016

After spending the past few weeks on the East Coast with Road Shows in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the pendulum swung to the West Coast with stops in Santa Barbara, California and Portland, Oregon. Athletes Lounge in Portland serves a tight knit triathlon community but could also be characterized as a destination shop as it sits a few blocks away from the entrance of Forest Park, the largest urban forest in the US, with over 80-miles of trails perfectly suited for runs of up to 30-miles one way! Highlights of the Athletes Lounge show included a presentation by Escape from Alcatraz winner Eric Lagerstrom, a Portland native and former shop employee, an appearance by American Mile Run Record Holder Alan Webb, a keg of Deschutes brew, a food truck serving an array of Mole dishes, and a whole host of impassioned attendees from the local tri community.

All photos © Lars Finanger

The morning group ride at Athletes Lounge in Portland, Oregon was one of the largest we’ve seen at a Road Show yet. Owner Gary Wallesen makes a few introductions and gives last minute instructions before a group of 100-plus riders from a variety of local clubs.

Cervélo was on hand so riders could demo their lineup of triathlon bikes. Every person at a Slowtwitch Road Show in 2016 to demo ride a Cervélo is entered in a raffle to win a P5 at the end of the tour.

Hoka One One, a staple on the Road Show tour, continues to put runners in their demo shoes prior to the morning group runs. In Portland, they had the recently-released Claytons for runners to experience first hand.

Hoka’s demos were popular throughout the day.

Tim Mulrooney from HED is a stud on two wheels, a multiple-time Minnesota State Champion cyclist in time trials, on the road, on the track and in cyclocross. He relishes any opportunity to discuss the best wheel and tire choices for any course or condition.

At SRAM’s setup, it is always amusing to see the “ah ha” moment when people demo their eTAP for the first time.

Josh Thompson from Polar was stoked to share fresh new technology from the Finnish electronics company.

Mike Orton from blueseventy shares insight into their goggle offerings with this father and son.

All “local stakeholders” within the triathlon community are invited to participate and Staci Partridge from Best in the West Events was on hand talking about their event offerings.

WHY Racing Events offered expo attendees special pricing for their Oregon race series.

Steve Chapin from Castelli presented Slowman with his custom T1 Stealth Top, ideal for long course racing. These will be raffled at future Slowtwitch events this year.

Polar outfitted group runners with demo watches.

Athletes Lounge store manager Scott Benjamin (in red) handled the event planning and execution for the shop.

Checking out the Castelli lineup with Bill Carlson on hand providing insight.

Professional triathlete Chris Boudreaux, a foundation member of the Athletes Lounge, showcases Greenhorn Northwest watches handmade in Portland.

With an endless variety of friendly cycling roads and running trails, many top endurance athletes call Portland home. Eric Lagerstrom (far left), who cut his teeth as a shop kid in Athletes Lounge, fielded questions about his Road to Rio experience. American Mile Record holder Alan Webb (second to right) put his energies into learning the triathlon craft after injuries cut short his pro running career. Webb and Orton (far right) were childhood friends and competed on swim teams together.

Inside Athletes Lounge, Wahoo Fitness had a Power Challenge contest running throughout the day. Brian Falotico is Athletes Lounge’s Warehouse Manager on this day records riders 3-minute power outputs.